Apparatus  for cleaning private body  parts

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for cleaning private body parts comprising: a container configured for containing a stack of disposable pads therein; and a mechanism configured for holding maintaining the stack of pads such that an uppermost pad from the stack located at a predefined height in respect to a bottom of the container, such as to situate the uppermost pad in an area of an open upper rim of the container to allow the user to clean a private body part by holding and directing the container without hand touching the uppermost pad, wherein said apparatus is further configured to allow disposing of the uppermost pad after using thereof without hand touching of the used uppermost pad.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation in part of application No.14/678,804 filed Apr. 6, 2015.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to devices, apparatuses andmethods for cleaning private body parts for removal of body secretionsand more particularly to devices, apparatuses and methods for dispensingof wipes or pads and cleaning private body parts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wet (moist) wipes or dry tissue wipes are commonly used for cleaningprivate body parts such as for anus, armpit or vaginal cleaning forremoving body secretions such as feces, urine, sweat and the like. Toclean the private body part the user is required touch the wipe duringcleaning and also when throwing it away.

There are many dispensing devices known in the art for dispensing wet ordry wipes but they all require hand contact of the user with the wipefor taking the wipe from the dispenser and using thereof for cleaning.This situation can be unhygienic and often inconvenient for use as thedispensing activity is separated from the wiping activity and requiresdispensing of a new wipe at a time with each cleaning session.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to allow the user to cleanprivate body parts by dispensing wipes without physically touching thewipes during the actual wiping and dispensing of the wipes in eachcleaning session.

According to some embodiments of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for cleaning private body parts comprising: (a) a containerconfigured for containing a stack of disposable wipes therein; and (b) amechanism configured for holding the stack of pads thereover and formaintaining an uppermost pad from the stack located at a predefinedheight in respect to a bottom of the container, such as to situate theuppermost pad in an area of an open upper rim of the container to allowthe user to clean a private body part by holding and directing thecontainer without hand touching the uppermost pad. The apparatus is alsoconfigured to allow disposing of the uppermost pad after using thereofwithout hand touching of the used uppermost pad.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises one ormore support members located in the container being configured forholding the stack of pads thereover, wherein the support member engagesthe mechanism that holds the pads thereover.

Optionally, the container is semi-rigid having a flexibility level thatallows disposing of each used uppermost pad by pressing thereof toslightly deform the shape of its rim.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus further comprisesprotrusions facing inwardly to the container opening; the protrusionsare arranged over the rim of the container for holding the uppermost padthereby.

The mechanical mechanism optionally comprises a spring located under thesupport member and is configured for supporting thereof. The containermay optionally be configured to hold the uppermost pad such that theuppermost pad covers at least part of the rim of the container toprevent the rim from contacting the body of the user when the apparatusis used. According to some embodiments, each pad in the stack is foldedand has at least one wing-margin configured for covering at least partof the rim when the pad is at the uppermost position.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a coverfor closing the opening of the container, wherein the cover optionallyconfigured for sealing the apparatus such as to maintain moist of moistpads stored therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C show photographs of a prototype of an apparatus for cleaningprivate body parts, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention:

FIG. 1A shows a front perspective view of the apparatus; FIG. 1B showsan upper view of the apparatus; FIG. 1C shows a frontal view of theapparatus with a cover thereof; and FIG. 1D shows a spring mechanicalmechanism of the apparatus outside the container of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of various embodiments, referenceis made to the accompanying drawings that form a part thereof, and inwhich are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments maybe utilized and structural changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, provides anapparatus for cleaning private body parts by dispensing moist or drypads therethrough without requiring the user to actually touch the padat any stage in the cleaning and dispensing process for easy andhygienic use of the apparatus. The apparatus can be used for wipingprivate parts such as for anus or vaginal cleaning for removing bodysecretions or any other cleaning purposes.

The term “pad” refers to any type of piece of soft material withcushions, a towel, a wipe or any other known in the art piece that canbe used for cleaning of a body part and can be moist, wet or dry. Forexample, the wipes can be paper wipes (tissues or toilet paper wipes),cotton wipes, synthetic wipes and the like.

The term private body part refers to any intimate body part or any otherbody part of the user that requires removal of body excretions or wastesuch as the armpit, feet, eyes, vaginal or anus areas.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a container thatmay be semi-rigid configured for containing a stack of dispensable padstherein; and a mechanical mechanism optionally supporting a supportmember configured for holding the pads stack such that the uppermost padof the stack will be located at a predefined height in respect to anopen rim of the container, such as to situate the uppermost pad in aposition that allows cleaning a private body part of the user by holdingand directing the container without hand touching the uppermost pad. Theapparatus of the present invention is further configured to allow theuser to dispose the uppermost pad after using thereof without handtouching of the used uppermost pads e.g. by slightly bending thecontainer.

The apparatus may be designed to be used until the stack of pads isemptied or it may be refillable.

The pads in each stack may be folded separately from one another in aspecific fold that allows the uppermost pad of the stack at each givencleaning session to automatically unfold to an unfolded or semi-unfoldedposition when reaching the uppermost location of the stack such that atleast one wing-margin thereof covers at least part of the container'srim to prevent the rims of the container to come into contact with theuser's body when using the apparatus for cleaning his/her private bodypart.

The rim of the container, in some embodiments, may be flexible andsmoothened to prevent it from bruising the user if accidently contactingthereof or even through the pad.

According to some embodiments, the mechanical mechanism used formaintaining the support member at a predefined height includes a springconnected to a bottom of the container at one lower end thereof andengages or connects to the support member at another upper end thereof.The spring is configured to maintain the support member at a specificheight from the bottom to have only the uppermost pad of the stacksituated in the area of the container rim in a specific unfolded orsemi-unfolded position.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus also includes multipleprotrusions attached to the rim of the container for holding theuppermost pad in the unfolded or semi-unfolded position and for holdingthe uppermost pad.

Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus includes one or morestoppers located above the support member inside the container forpreventing the support member from rising above the rim of thecontainer. For example, in case of a spring-based mechanical mechanism,the stoppers may protrude from the inner wall of the container at aspecific height from the container bottom for blocking the supportmember thereby limiting its maximal height in respect to the bottom ofthe container.

The overall shape of the apparatus container may be ergonomic to alloweasy and comfortable moving thereof in the area of the private bodypart. For example, the container may have a narrowing rounded conicalshape for anus wiping that will allow placing the apparatus containerbetween the two hind-parts and using it for cleaning the hind-partswhether by rotating and/or linearly moving thereof.

The dimensions and the overall weight of the apparatus including acartridge stack of pads therein may be such as to allow easy, light andcompact carrying thereof in a bag for easy dispensing and using of thepads therein.

According to some embodiments, the pad had a large enough volume or iscushioned enough to allow it to exceed the container's rim surface forpreventing contact between the container's rim and the user's body aswell as for improving comfort of use.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1A-1B, showing an apparatus 100 forcleaning private body parts of a user, without requiring the user tophysically touch the pads used for the cleaning, according to someembodiments of the invention. This apparatus 100 includes a semi-rigidcontainer 110 having a spring mechanical mechanism therein 130 having aflattened upper side. The spring 130 is configured for maintaining thestack of pads at a predefined height from the container's 110 bottom tokeep the uppermost pad of the stack close to the container's rim 120,such as to allow using the apparatus 100 for cleaning a private partwithout touching the pads by hand.

FIG. 1D clearly shows the spring 130 mechanical mechanism outside thecontainer 110.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the container 110 also includes multipleprotrusions 121 a-121 c protruding from the rim 120 that are slightlybent inwardly to the container's opening to allow holding the uppermostpad and therefore the entire stack thereby for preventing it from risingabove a certain height above the rim of the container and alsooptionally to maintain the upper most pad at a semi-unfolded or unfoldedposition such that a wing-margin thereof (e.g. shaped as pad wings)exceed the rim 120 of the container 110 to cover at least part thereofto prevent any part of the container 110 from contacting the body duringcleaning of the private body part for maximal hygiene.

According to some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the rim 120includes raised wing-margins 125 a and 125 b for receiving thereover acap or cover 160 for closing the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1C.According to some embodiments, the cover 160 is configured for sealingthe apparatus 100 such as to maintain moist of moist pads storedtherein.

According to some embodiments, the container 110 or just the rim 120thereof is flexible enough to allow dispensing the uppermost pad afteruse thereof by simply pressing the sides of the container's upperportion for bending the rim shape while the container 110 is heldupside-down.

The apparatus container or rim thereof may be made of any known in theart material such as plastic or metal that has some level of flexibilityto allow the deforming of its rim for disposing of used pads.

In these embodiments, the mechanical mechanism is configured toautomatically raise the stack in each dispensing of a pad to bring theuppermost pad to the specific position in respect to the container'sbottom. However, in other embodiments, the mechanical mechanism of theapparatus is configured to have the user manually raising the supportmember using a lifting mechanism that can be mechanically orelectrically controlled by the user for bringing the uppermost pad tothe desired height. The controlled mechanism may be discrete andconfigured to raise the support member to a predefined different heightat each operation of the controller or continuous.

Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinaryskill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustratedembodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and thatit should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by thefollowing invention and its various embodiments and/or by the followingclaims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of aclaim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expresslyunderstood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer, moreor different elements, which are disclosed in above even when notinitially claimed in such combinations. A teaching that two elements arecombined in a claimed combination is further to be understood as alsoallowing for a claimed combination in which the two elements are notcombined with each other, but may be used alone or combined in othercombinations. The excision of any disclosed element of the invention isexplicitly contemplated as within the scope of the invention.

The words used in this specification to describe the invention and itsvarious embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of theircommonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in thisspecification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of thecommonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in thecontext of this specification as including more than one meaning, thenits use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possiblemeanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.

The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are,therefore, defined in this specification to include not only thecombination of elements which are literally set forth, but allequivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially thesame function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially thesame result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that anequivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any oneof the elements in the claims below or that a single element may besubstituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements maybe described above as acting in certain combinations and even initiallyclaimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or moreelements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised fromthe combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to asub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by aperson with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, areexpressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of theclaims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one withordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of thedefined elements.

The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specificallyillustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, whatcan be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates theessential idea of the invention.

Although the invention has been described in detail, neverthelesschanges and modifications, which do not depart from the teachings of thepresent invention, will be evident to those skilled in the art. Suchchanges and modifications are deemed to come within the purview of thepresent invention and the appended claims.

1. An apparatus for cleaning private body parts comprising: a) acontainer configured for containing a stack of disposable pads therein;and b) a mechanism situated inside said container, said mechanism beingconfigured for holding and maintaining the stack of pads such that anuppermost pad from the stack located at a predefined height in respectto a bottom of the container, such as to situate the uppermost pad in anarea of an open upper rim of the container to allow the user to clean aprivate body part by holding and directing the container without handtouching the uppermost pad, wherein said apparatus is further configuredto allow disposing of the uppermost pad after using thereof without handtouching of the used uppermost pad.
 2. The apparatus according to claim1, further comprising at least one support member located in saidcontainer, said support member being configured for holding the stack ofpads thereover, wherein said mechanism engages said support member andconfigured for holding thereof.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said container is semi-rigid having a flexibility level thatallows disposing of each used uppermost pad by pressing thereof toslightly deform the shape of its rim.
 4. The apparatus according to anyone of claims 1, further comprising protrusions facing inwardly to saidcontainer opening, said protrusions are arranged over the rim of saidcontainer for holding the uppermost pad thereby.
 5. The apparatusaccording to any one of claims 1, wherein said mechanism comprises aspring.
 6. The apparatus according to claims 1, wherein said containeris configured to hold the uppermost pad such that the uppermost padcovers at least part of the rim of the container to prevent the rim fromcontacting the body of the user when the apparatus is used.
 7. Theapparatus according to claim 6, wherein each pad in said stack is foldedand has at least one wing-margin configured for covering at least partof said rim when the pad is at the uppermost position.
 8. The apparatusaccording to any one of claims 1 further comprising a cover for closingthe opening of the container.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the cover is configured for sealing said apparatus such as tomaintain moist of moist pads stored therein.
 10. The apparatus accordingto any one of claims 1, wherein said mechanism is a mechanical mechanismmechanically or electrically controllable.